Just over a week into lockdown in the UK and all social media channels have been fairly bursting with stuff to do. Online versions of our usual Pilates or yoga sessions, delivered with more or less hilarity depending on the group’s collective nous about Zoom. Displacement activities to push away the fear of contagion and loneliness, like choirs and mindfulness sessions on facebook. WhatsApp has been clogged with videos of the weird and wonderful ways people have to pass their time in confinement. Where would we be now without the internet? God help us if it goes down. Who knew a global health crisis could give rise to so much laughter and entertainment?
At the same time we’ve been feeling the shock and awe of the realisation of how big this thing is. How maybe not all of us will come through it. How we are suddenly living in a dystopian movie and we don’t know what kind of world we will emerge into when it’s over. Many of us are starting to make connections between this pandemic and the decades of blithe consumption and ecocide that have preceded it. Many of us are starting to recognise where the real power lies in this system and how big our task is to reboot it.
And so what am I going to do about it? Well folks, this week I am mostly going to be learning the disco dance moves to ‘Staying Alive’, as demonstrated by Australian Extinction Rebellion above. I’ve got to get out of my head and into my body and have a laugh. A laugh with purpose. Because just as soon as we can reclaim the streets of our cities I want to be out there dancing. And I hope you will too. Civil Discobedience - the way to go!